Leadership Principles Quotes

Never give an order that can't be obeyed.

Management is formal authority given from above. Leadership is moral authority given from below and all around.

First, do not betray yourself. Second, do not betray those you lead.

It is no easy task to lead men. But it is easy enough to drive them.

America has value-based leadership. America is valued - America is followed by other nations, including my own nation, because it's based on the values that America has to offer to the rest of the world - freedom, freedom of choice, democracy, open market.

Leadership is much less about what you do, and much more about who you are. If you view leadership as a bag of manipulative tricks or charismatic behaviors to advance your own personal interest, then people have every right to be cynical. But if your leadership flows first and foremost from inner character and integrity of ambition, then you can justly ask people to lend themselves to your organization and its mission.

The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.

Leadership is a series of behaviors rather than a role for heroes.

Nature abhors a vacuum, even in the heads of statesmen.

A leader in any place must ask himself who he identifies with, with which values, and towards what goals.

The intelligent ruler makes the law select men and makes no arbitrary appointment himself; he makes the law measure merits and makes no arbitrary judgment himself.

Everyone says there's a lack of leadership in the world these days. I think we should all be thankful, because the only reason for leadership is to convince people to do things that are either dangerous (like invading another country) or stupid (working extra hard without extra pay).

Every sailor knows that you can't sail a ship that isn't moving forward, strong leaders understand that to change direction, you first have to create forward progress.

We live in a world that is crying out for better leadership.

The foundation of leadership is your own moral compass. I think the best quality leaders really know where their moral compass is. They get it out when they are making decisions. It's their guide. But not only do you have to have a moral compass and take it out of your pocket, it has to have a true north.

Generally, management of many is the same as management of few. It is a matter of organization. And to control many is the same as to control few. This is a matter of formations and signals.

In the military, we are also taught to only use one third of the available decision-making time, so that our subordinates have time to go through their own decision processes when they learn what we want them to do.

Leadership is not a right-it is a responsibility.

Leadership is not a basket of tricks or strategies or skills that you pull out. Leadership begins with the quality of the person.

We should never pretend to know what we don't know, we should not feel ashamed to ask and learn from people below, and we should listen carefully to the views of the cadres at the lowest levels. Be a pupil before you become a teacher; learn from the cadres at the lower levels before you issue orders.

People will not follow a leader with moral incongruities for long. Every time you compromise character you compromise leadership. The foundation of firm leadership is character.

The world doesn't need more great leaders, it needs more great people who lead.

I always remember the teachings of our ancestors: respect for God, teacher, government, and both parents. Even after I became president, I have not changed in this matter in the slightest. I hold these teachings in high esteem, and I believe in their truth.

The practice of leadership is not the same as the exercise of power.

True leadership is moral authority, not formal authority. Leadership is a choice, not a position. The choice is to follow universal timeless principles, which will build trust and respect from the entire organization. Those with formal authority alone will lose this trust and respect.